- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) delayed publishing a report highlighting the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine, raising concerns that information conflicting with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s views may be sidelined.
- The research indicated that healthy adults who received the Covid vaccine reduced their risk of urgent care and emergency visits by 50 percent and Covid-related hospitalizations by 55 percent.
- Acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya postponed the report's publication, citing methodological concerns, despite the CDC's long history of using similar methods for assessing respiratory virus vaccines.
- An HHS spokesperson stated that it is routine for CDC leadership to review and flag concerns about papers, while critics suggest the delay might be intended to undercut Kennedy's vaccine narrative.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long history of vaccine skepticism, having previously chaired an anti-vaccine group and overseen policy changes, including directing the CDC to drop Covid vaccine recommendations for children and healthy pregnant women.
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